Diamond Sports, the owner of regional sports networks, was ordered this week by a bankruptcy judge to make full media rights payments to four Major League Baseball teams.
Diamond had already paid the teams up to 75% of the payments owed earlier in its bankruptcy, court papers show.
If Diamond doesn't make the remainder of the payments owed to the teams, those teams can walk away from their contracts with the company, a judge ruled.
In particular, Diamond has been pushing to hold the direct-to-consumer streaming rights to all MLB teams that air on its networks.
Currently, Diamond has deals with all its NBA and NHL teams, plus a handful of MLB teams for the streaming rights.
Persons:
Diamond, Rob Manfred
Organizations:
Ohio, Bally Sports, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Progressive, Diamond Sports, Major League Baseball, MLB, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Padres, Federal, Court, Diamond, NBA, NHL, The Athletic, Sinclair Broadcast, Sinclair
Locations:
Cleveland, Houston